Library Card Sign-Up Month

Library Card Sign-Up Month started in 1987 with an announcement from the then United States Secretary of Education, William Bennett, that all children should sign up for a library card and to use it. The American Library Association partnered with the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science with an $85,000 grant from the Reader’s Digest Foundation and kicked off the inaugural month with the theme, “The Best Gift You’ll Ever Give Your Child…A Library Card”. Advertised on more than 500 TV and radio stations and 200 magazines, the campaign gained momentum quickly.  The inaugural kick off took place on October 14, 1987 on the Mall with over 500 children in attendance. The following year September was declared Library Card Sign-Up month.  Since then public and school libraries by the thousands have stressed the importance of the library card as a child’s most important school supply.